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I love dogs, cats and birds, but I there is a time and place for everything, and church bazaars and craft shows are not the place for pets.

Oh, I'm not talking about service animals, which are welcome everywhere. And yes, we do have a service animal that comes to our bazaar and craft show.

Recently, our Calvary United Methodist Church had a craft show, and they were selling crafts and serving food. In came a woman with a medium-size black dog on a long leash that just made itself at home under craft tables.

This bothered the craftspeople and others who saw it, so it was reported to the woman in charge, who very politely asked the woman if it was a service dog.

The answer was, "No, it's my pet."

So the woman in charge asked her politely to leave the dog outside or just take it home because someone could trip over the leash, it could bite a child, or it could break crafts that were being kept under tables.

It was a reasonable request, as our church would be held responsible if anything were to happen.

The woman went into an outrage, called the woman in charge a name that can't be printed, said she would never come back again, and thought our church was terrible.

I'm sorry. The woman maybe had a real understanding problem, but she upset the woman in charge, who worked hard putting the show together. We were all glad the woman and dog left.

Why would someone bring a pet into a church bazaar or craft show? I really hope that woman will read this and find it in her heart to apologize to the wonderful woman who did all the work on that craft show.

Please use common sense and leave your pets at home when going into churches for dinners and other activities unless it's a pet show or unless it is advertised that pets are welcome.

Carol Eskin, Mount Airy